Good afternoon, math teachers!
I have come across a piece of technology that could prove enriching to your lessons. Edutopia recently ran a piece about using a BBC micro:bit to demonstrate data collection and analysis with middle grade students. The micro:bit is essentially a tiny computer that can hold a single code at any given time. It allows students to make connections between coding, graphing, and a variety of other skills they learn in math class. Physical micro:bits can be purchased, although there is also a free online simulator that allows the same skills to be applied without the need for a physical version.
I hope that this tool can be enriching for you! It is always my goal to find technology that meets you and your students where you are (Boyer, 2016). I think purchasing physical versions of these could be very enriching to our students (a set of ten costs about $205), but the online version is still useful, too. If you give the free version a try with your students and you find it successful, please let me know and I will assist you with requesting a purchase order. I'm also happy to assist in learning how to use the technology; my goal as a librarian is to help sustain the digital environment of our school, and I want to help cultivate a variety of literacies beyond just reading, and this includes technology literacy (Boyer, 2016).
As always, my goal is to make new technology initiatives about the people who will actually use and implement them (Overbay, Mollette, & Vasu, 2011, p. 56). In this case, that would be you and your students. If you do not believe this would be successful in your classroom, please let me know! I will take that information and use it in the future when I find new technologies that might be useful in our classrooms. I want both you and our students to have buy-in when it comes to incorporating these tools.
Please reach out if you have any questions or concerns!
References
Boyer, B. (2016). Meet your learners where they are: virtualizing the school library. Internet@Schools, 23(1), 4+. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A440057567/AONE?u=nysl_ca_dmvacces&sid=bookmark-AONE&xid=73a967ca
Microsoft MakeCode. https://makecode.microbit.org/
Omundson, J. (2022, December 15). Coding a bbc micro:bit to explore math problems. Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/article/coding-math-middle-school
Overbay, A., Mollette, M. & Vasu, E.S. (2011). A technology plan that works. Educational Leadership, 68(5), 56-59.
Ready2STEM. (2023). Bbc micro:bit v2 club pack. https://www.ready2stem.com/products/bbc-micro-bit-v2-club-pack variant=41908059603132¤cy=USD&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&utm_campaign=gs-2022-08-22&utm_source=google&utm_medium=smart_campaign&gclid=Cj0KCQiAofieBhDXARIsAHTTldoFon_1jPkARtShGAsJPb5uWtfZ6NLGVWB1CXUklNN5FjXYkur_rVkaAnZiEALw_wcB
Hey Rachel! I love that you pulled in coding with the math lessons! Our school elementary school participates in coding and our tech coach has found ways to integrate our standards within our lessons. Students practice with Minecraft Education, Scratch, Lego, and Tynker. In fact, my second graders just finished a coding project using cardinal directions. They think coding is a lot of fun and it's opening new doors for their future! Thanks for sharing this resource. I hadn't heard of it before. I'll definitely have to keep it in mind!
ReplyDeleteRachel, this was a fantastic post and I love this resource! I am fascinated by coding and love that students are getting involved in it now too with things like this. Thanks so much for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThis resource sounds so cool! I love how accessible coding is becoming and students really seem to enjoy it! I do think that the physical version would be awesome for students to use as a "real world" tool, but the digital version could also be just as good! I'll definitely be playing around with this one to see if some of my teachers and students would find it useful!
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